The Kenya Rural Road Agency (Kerra) has introduced multiple mobile weighbridges along the newly tarmacked Kajiado-Imaroro-Isara road to end the menace of overloaded sand trucks.
Two years after the road was officially commissioned, dozens of overloaded sand trucks have been plying the route, prompting a public outcry.
The first stretch of 70km from Isara town to Imaroro shopping centre falls under the low volume seal paved roads category. The second stretch measuring 91km runs from Imaroro to Kajiado then from Isinya to Ngong via Kiserian.
The durability of the bitumen standard road, which can only handle vehicles weighing up to 10-tonnes, is at stake in case the rogue sand transporters are not contained. The contractor is left with one year of maintenance work.
Sand transporters
A section of residents are up in arms castigating the sand transporters saying the economic boom that came with the road might be short-lived.
“It sad to see the new road developing some potholes due to overloaded trucks. What will happen after the contractor’s stipulated maintenance period expires?” Wondered Mr James Silonka from Mashuru.
The road agencies officers are accompanied by armed police officers. In the past, rogue truck drivers have attacked the Kerra.
“We are monitoring the road for 24 hours a day. We have impromptu weighbridges along the road. We are aware the rogue sand transporters have established clandestine routes to evade our officers but we will catch up with them,” said a Kerra engineer at one of the mobile weighbridges.
The new road community liaison officer Mr Richard Sekeyian urged the security apparatus to work closely with road agencies to ensure the road is protected.
“This is a milestone project … Let’s tunite with road agencies and the security apparatus to protect it,” he said. BY DAILY NATION